JOHN LELAND presents HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE YOU MAKE: Lessons from a Year Among the Oldest Old

JOHN LELAND presents HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE YOU MAKE: Lessons from a Year Among the Oldest Old
In 2015, when the award-winning journalist John Leland set out on behalf of The New York Times to meet members of America's fastest-growing age group, he anticipated learning of challenges, of loneliness, and of the deterioration of body, mind, and quality of life. But the elders he met took him in an entirely different direction. The reality Leland encountered upended contemporary notions of aging, revealing the late stages of life as unexpectedly rich and the elderly as incomparably wise.
Event date:
Wednesday, February 21, 2018 - 6:00pm to 7:30pm
Event address:
55 Haywood Street
Asheville, NC 28801

Rabbi Rami Shapiro - Holy Rascals

Rabbi Rami Shapiro - Holy Rascals
Rabbi Rami Shapiro has spent a lifetime exploring his spirituality through traditional and non-traditional means. Using himself as an example of a “holy rascal,” he challenges readers to creatively examine the role of spirituality in contemporary life in his new book, Holy Rascals: Advice for Spiritual Revolutionaries.
"Holy rascals are spiritual culture jammers who use humor, play, creativity, and critical thinking to reveal the human origins of religions--and how religions mask their true origins behind the conceit of divine origins," he explains. Stop by for an expansion on this thought.
This event is co-sponsored by a local interfaith group.
Event date:
Wednesday, February 21, 2018 - 7:00pm
Event address:
North Hills
4209-100 Lassiter Mill Road
Raleigh, NC 27609

Poet Todd Boss: Tough Luck

Avid presents poet Todd Boss for his collection, TOUGH LUCK. This event will be hosted on Wednesday, February 21, from 6:00 to 7:00pm at our Prince Ave. location, and is free and open to the public.
We encourage you to purchase a copy of this title at the event and have it signed by the author! You can purchase a copy online, here: http://www.avidbookshop.com/book/9780393608625
ABOUT THE COLLECTION:
At the center of TOUGH LUCK is a poem about the ill-fated I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis and its disastrous collapse, which killed 13 people and injured 145. The freighted, swiftly moving poems in TOUGH LUCK crisscross the chasm between peril and safety as if between opposing riverbanks, revealing a frequently heart-stopping view of the muscled waters below. Marriage, family, home—all come crashing down, but Todd Boss rebuilds with his trademark musicality and “a reverent gusto for representing the tactile aspects of human life” (Tony Hoagland).

Paul Goldberg

Paul Goldberg, the acclaimed author of The Yid, takes us behind the scenes of a Florida condo board election, delivering a wild spin on Miami Beach, petty crime, Jewish identity, and life in Trump’s America.
It is January 2017 and Bill has hit rock bottom. Yesterday, he was William M. Katzenelenbogen, successful science reporter at The Washington Post. But things have taken a turn. Fired from his job, aimless, with exactly $1,219.37 in his checking account, he learns that his college roommate, a plastic surgeon known far and wide as the “Butt God of Miami Beach,” has fallen to his death under salacious circumstances. With nothing to lose, Bill boards a flight for Florida’s Gold Coast, ready to begin his own investigation―a last ditch attempt to revive his career.
There’s just one catch: Bill’s father, Melsor.
Melsor Yakovlevich Katzenelenbogen―poet, literary scholar, political dissident, small-time-crook―is angling for control of the condo board at the Château Sedan Neuve, a crumbling high-rise in Hollywood, Florida, populated mostly by Russian Jewish immigrants. The current board is filled with fraudsters levying “special assessments” on residents, and Melsor will use any means necessary to win the board election. And who better to help him than his estranged son?
As he did in The Yid, Paul Goldberg has taken something we think we know and turned it on its ear. Featuring a colorful cast of characters, The Château guarantees that you will never look at condo boards, crime, kleptocracy, vodka, Fascism, or Florida the same way again.
About the Author:
Paul Goldberg’s debut novel The Yid was published in 2016 to widespread acclaim and named a finalist for both the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature and the National Jewish Book Award’s Goldberg Prize for Debut Fiction. As a reporter, Goldberg has written two books about the Soviet human rights movement, and has co-authored (with Otis Brawley) the book How We Do Harm, an expose of the U.S. healthcare system. He is the editor and publisher of The Cancer Letter, a publication focused on the business and politics of cancer. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Sundog Book Club - Behind Closed Doors

Sundog Book Club - Behind Closed Doors
Join us Wednesday, February 21st to discuss Behind Closed Doors. We are an open group - you are welcome to come to one discussion or them all! ^_^
(Please note: we now meet at the Seaside Institute.)
Event date:
Wednesday, February 21, 2018 - 10:00am

The Southern Writers Book group

Wednesday, February 21, 6 p.m.: The Southern Writers Book group will discuss Sweet Water by Christina Baker Kline.
Cassie Simon is a struggling artist living in New York City. When she receives a call from a magistrate in Sweetwater, TN, telling her she has inherited 60 acres of land from her grandfather, whom she never knew, she takes it as a sign: it’s time for a change. She moves into the house where her mother, Ellen, was born — and where she died tragically when Cassie was three.
From the moment she arrives in Sweetwater, Cassie is overwhelmed by the indelible mark her mother’s memory had left behind. As she delves into the thicket of mystery that surrounds her mother’s death, Cassie begins to understand the desperate measures the human heart is capable of.

Parnassus Book Club - Desperation Road with special guest Michael Farris Smith

Parnassus Book Club - Desperation Road with special guest Michael Farris Smith
Please join moderator Kathy Schultenover and author Michael Farris Simth for a discussion of his book, Desperation Road. Parnassus Book Club meetings are free and open to anyone. Buy the book, read the book and join the discussion.
In the vein of Daniel Woodrell's Winter's Bone and the works of Ron Rash, a novel set in a tough-and-tumble Mississippi town where drugs, whiskey, guns, and the desire for revenge violently intersect.
For eleven years the clock has been ticking for Russell Gaines as he sits in Parchman Penitentiary in the Mississippi Delta. His sentence is now up, and he believes his debt has been paid. But when he returns home, he soon discovers that revenge lives and breathes all around him.
On the same day that Russell is released from prison, a woman named Maben and her young daughter trudge along the side of the interstate under the punishing summer sun. Desperate and exhausted, the pair spend their last dollar on a room for the night, a night that ends with Maben running through the darkness holding a pistol, and a dead deputy sprawled in the middle o the road in the glow of his own headlights.
With the dawn, destinies collide, and Russell is forced to decide whose life he will save--his own or those of the woman and child.
Delivered in powerful and lyrical prose, Desperation Road is a story of troubled souls twisted with regret and bound by secrets that stretch over the years and across the land.
Event date:
Wednesday, February 21, 2018 - 6:30pm

Greensboro Bound presents Literary Jungle, Literary Community
a three part series for writers and would-be writers hoping to navigate the literary world
Part Two is a discussion of small presses and small press publishing
For this panel discussion, representatives from some of NC's most prestigious small presses will be on hand to discuss the nitty gritty of small press publication: how small presses work, what they are looking for, what you can expect if you publish with a small press. In addition, we'll have small press authors on hand to discuss their experience.
Kevin Watson, Press 53
Andrew Saulters, Unicorn Press
Event date:
Wednesday, February 21, 2018 - 7:00pm
Event address:
304 S. Elm St.
Greensboro, NC 27401

Elizabeth Crook with THE WHICH WAY TREE

Elizabeth Crook with THE WHICH WAY TREE
The poignant odyssey of a tenacious young girl who braves the dangers of the Texas frontier to avenge her mother's death.
Early one morning in the remote hill country of Texas, a panther savagely attacks a family of homesteaders, mauling a young girl named Samantha and killing her mother, whose final act is to save her daughter's life. Samantha and her half brother, Benjamin, survive, but she is left traumatized, her face horribly scarred.
Narrated in Benjamin's beguilingly plainspoken voice, The Which Way Tree is the story of Samantha's unshakeable resolve to stalk and kill the infamous panther, rumored across the Rio Grande to be a demon, and avenge her mother's death. In their quest she and Benjamin, now orphaned, enlist a charismatic Tejano outlaw and a haunted, compassionate preacher with an aging but relentless tracking dog. As the members of this unlikely posse hunt the panther, they are in turn pursued by a hapless but sadistic Confederate soldier with troubled family ties to the preacher and a score to settle.
In the tradition of the great pursuit narratives, The Which Way Tree is a breathtaking saga of one steadfast girl's revenge against an implacable and unknowable beast. Yet with the comedic undertones of Benjamin's storytelling, it is also a timeless tale full of warmth and humor, and a testament to the enduring love that carries a sister and brother through a perilous adventure with all the dimensions of a legend.
About the Author
Elizabeth Crook has published four novels and has written for periodicals such as Texas Monthly and the Southwestern Historical Quarterly and served on the council of the Texas Institute of Letters and the board of the Texas Book Festival. She is a member of Women Writing the West, Western Writers of America and The Texas Philosophical Society, and was selected the honored writer for 2006 Texas Writers' Month. Her first novel, The Raven's Bride, was the 2006 Texas Reads: One Book One Texas selection. The Night Journal was awarded the 2007 Spur award for Best Long Novel of the West and the 2007 Willa Literary Award for Historical Fiction. Monday, Monday was awarded the 2015 Jesse H. Jones award for fiction. Elizabeth currently lives in Austin with her family.

In-store Signing: POET ANDREA GIBSON presents TAKE ME WITH YOU

In-store Signing: POET ANDREA GIBSON presents TAKE ME WITH YOU
Andrea Gibson’s poetry focuses on gender norms, politics, social reform and the struggles LGBTQ people face in today's society. A devoted fan base sees Gibson's work as a rallying cry for action and a welcome mat at the door of the heart's most compassionate room. For readers of Rupi Kaur and Atticus, the latest release is a book small enough to carry with you, with messages big enough to stay with you, from one of the most quotable and influential poets of our time.

AMY DUERNBERGER presents EXPLORING THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN GRASSY BALDS: A HIKING GUIDE
This is the first guidebook to focus exclusively on the southern Appalachian grassy balds. The trails are organized into five geographic areas, with complete descriptions, maps, photos, and historical tidbits. At once a reference work and field guide, this book will encourage outdoor enthusiasts not only to experience the balds but to gain new appreciation for efforts to preserve and maintain these natural wonders.
Event date:
Thursday, February 22, 2018 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Event address:
55 Haywood Street
Asheville, NC 28801

Zachary Lazar

Zachary Lazar at Cafe Istanbul, 2372 St. Claude, New Orleans 70117: Vengeance
Thursday, February 22nd
7:00PM
At Cafe Istanbul, 2372 St. Claude
Join us at Cafe Istanbul with Zachary Lazar. Zachary Lazar reads from his book,Vengeance, in conjunction with The Graduates, a performance group of women who were all once members of the drama club at the women's prison in St. Gabriel. Afterward, Zachary and The Graduates will entertain questions and sign books.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Innocence Project.
Zachary Lazar’s powerful and important novel was inspired by a passion play, The Life of Jesus Christ, he witnessed at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. As someone who writes “fiction, nonfiction, sometimes a hybrid of both,” the narrator of Vengeance, a character much like Lazar himself, tries to accurately view a world he knows is “beyond the limits of my small understanding.” In particular, he tries to unravel the truth behind the supposed crime of an inmate he meets and befriends, Kendrick King, who is serving a life sentence at Angola for murder.
As he attempts to unravel the truth behind the man's supposed crime, he is also confronted with his own past, and re-examines American notions of guilt and penance, racial bias, and the inherent perversity of punitive justice.
If you are unable to attend, you must call the book shop to order signed books.
Event date:
Thursday, February 22, 2018 - 7:00pm
Event address:
Cafe Istanbul
2372 St. Claude
New Orleans, LA 70117

Author Csongor Daniel
Thursday February 22, 2018 6:00 PM
Join us on Thursday, February 22 at 6 pm to hear biotherapist, healer, speaker, wellness coach and author Csongor Daniel talk about his book Bioenergy Healing: Simple Techniques for Reducing Pain and Restoring Health Through Energetic Healing.
RSVP to (941) 205-2560 or copperfishbooks@comcast.net.
Csongor Daniel was one of the first officially recognized bioenergy healers in the former Yugoslavia, trained by the legendary Zdenko Domancic. While his teacher has healed more than a million people, Csongor has no such ambitions. Instead, he would like to teach more than a million of you how to become healers yourselves. Bioenergy Healing will teach you how to feel and see the energy fields of the body and how to manipulate the energy in order to induce healing.
Who needs Bioenergy Healing? Anyone who has ever dabbled in healing, but is still looking for the right method; people who read most books on energy healing, but are still puzzled by complicated approaches and explanations; individuals who want to learn energy healing, but are too busy to take months or years of courses; health professionals who want to add a new effective modality to their practices; parents and children who want to help their friends and family members reduce or eliminate pain and heal without drugs. In other words: everyone wanting to help others to heal.
Csongor Daniel learned bioenergy healing more than twenty-five years ago in his native Yugoslavia and has been healing and lecturing internationally ever since. His unique, humorous approach to teaching reflects in his writing. He believes that we were all born to be healers. He lives in North Port, Florida.

Elizabeth Cobb at Hyatt Regency Orlando
WE JOIN WOMEN UNITED IN WELCOMING ELIZABETH COBB AS THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER FOR THE 11TH ANNUAL WOMEN UNITED LUNCHEON AT THE HYATT REGENCY ORLANDO.
About Women United: Women United is made up of some of the most prominent and influential women in Central Florida, making comprehensive change in the areas of literacy and education. With the support of Heart of Florida United Way, Women United will host the 11th annual Women United Luncheon. This year will feature award winning historian Dr. Elizabeth Cobbs. Her newest book, The Hello Girls is based on the defining account of the first women to serve in the U.S. Army for the Signal Corps during WWI.
About the book: In 1918 the U.S. Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France to help win World War I. Elizabeth Cobbs reveals the challenges these patriotic young women faced in a war zone where male soldiers resented, wooed, mocked, saluted, and ultimately celebrated them. Back on the home front, they fought the army for veterans’ benefits and medals, and won.
This is the story of how America’s first women soldiers helped win World War I, earned the vote, and fought the U.S. Army. In 1918, the U.S. Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France. They were masters of the latest technology: the telephone switchboard. General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, demanded female “wire experts” when he discovered that inexperienced doughboys were unable to keep him connected with troops under fire. Without communications for even an hour, the army would collapse.
While suffragettes picketed the White House and President Woodrow Wilson struggled to persuade a segregationist Congress to give women of all races the vote, these competent and courageous young women swore the Army oath. Elizabeth Cobbs reveals the challenges they faced in a war zone where male soldiers welcomed, resented, wooed, mocked, saluted, and ultimately celebrated them. They received a baptism by fire when German troops pounded Paris with heavy artillery. Some followed “Black Jack” Pershing to battlefields where they served through shelling and bombardment. Grace Banker, their 25-year-old leader, won the Distinguished Service Medal.
The army discharged the last Hello Girls in 1920, the same year Congress ratified the Nineteenth Amendment granting the ballot. When the operators sailed home, the army unexpectedly dismissed them without veterans’ benefits. They began a sixty-year battle that a handful of survivors carried to triumph in 1979. With the help of the National Organization for Women, Senator Barry Goldwater, and a crusading Seattle attorney, they triumphed over the U.S. Army.
About the author: Award-winning historian Elizabeth Cobbs brings fresh, unexpected perspectives to our understanding of the past and present. Building upon worldwide research and extraordinary life expectencies, Elizabeth writes best-selling fiction and non-fiction that is both scholarly and witty. Elizabeth Cobbs is Melbern G. Glasscock Chair in American History at Texas A&M University and a Research Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution

DR. STEVEN MASLEY

The Oxford Exchange is one of the most unique bookstores in the country. Boasting one of the Tampa Bay Area's top restaurants, a curated gift and lifestyle store, and a state-of-the-art workspace in a breathtaking white brick building, the literary events held at OE are one of a kind and truly unforgettable.

THURS, FEBRUARY 22
6 PM
DR. STEVEN MASLEY
The Better Brain Solution

WORKS IN TRANSLATION BOOK CLUB

WORKS IN TRANSLATION BOOK CLUB
Join host and Malaprop’s bookseller Justin Souther to discuss writers—and their literature—in translation, and the cultural, political and artistic influences that shape them. This month’s book is The Door by Magda Szabo, translated by Len Rix.
Event date:
Thursday, February 22, 2018 - 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Event address:
55 Haywood Street

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